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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Happy Wednesday all I hope everyone is having a great day. Do you remember the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls that you used to get in the school cafeteria? Those were my favorite I was so excited whenever I saw them being served.Who knew those yummy little things were packed full of healthy ingredients. I did not know at the time that they were good for us, I just knew they were GOOD!!!!!!!!!!Now don't go mistaking these peanut butter balls for the traditional buckeye. These are not the same thing by far. My kids love when I make this yummy little treat. They have no idea that they are so good for them.Especially Picky Pants Carson, he thinks they are peanut butter candy cookies as he calls them. If he eats them then it doesn't matter to me what he calls them.

With Carson you gotta hide some of the healthy stuff to get him to eat it. I know by adding carob chips that it kind of makes them not so healthy anymore. I don't add them to all of peanut butter balls I usually do half.

My daughter doesn't like the carob chips but the boys do, so I try and please everyone. You can also just leave out the carob chips and roll the balls into graham cracker crumbs before freezing or just leave them plain (we love them plain).

It's your preference and what your kids or you like. Me, I can eat them any of the above ways. If you are looking for a healthy treat for your kiddos or you want a blast from the past go now and make a batch. You will be glad you did and so will your kids.

Start by adding everything in a big bowl. Mix it all together with hand mixer on low. Form into balls. (I use my small cookie scoop and scoop them up nice and tight) . Then roll them into a ball a bit with my hands.

place a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and freeze until firm. Remove from freezer and store in a large zip lock bag in the refrigerator.

enjoy!!!

Cafeteria Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls

Ingredients:

1 - cup organic honey

1 1/4 - cups natural creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 - cups dry powdered milk

3 - cups quick or old fashioned oatmeal, uncooked

2 - tablespoons wheat germ

2 - tablespoons ground flax seed

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together with a electric mixer.
Form into balls (I use a one inch cookie scoop) with hands, and freeze on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper until firm.
Remove from freezer and store in a large zip lock bag in the refrigerator.

Cook's Note: 1/2 cup carbo chips can be added. You can also omit the wheat germ and flax seed if you don't have any one hand. It wont alter the texture or taste. It was just a perk I added to sneak in some goodness.

I'm a school cook and we've never had anything like those! They look good, but I highly doubt they would get us honey!! I wish though. The kids would love them. Oh well, I can still make them at home for my kiddies :)

Sure you can leave the wheat germ out. It isnt a whole. Plus I used to make them without the wheat germ it was just something I add to sneak into my kids diets. You can even leave out the chocolate chips. Those are for my little guy, but he eats them without the CC. Either way you cant go wrong. I will go back and include that in the post.

When I was reading your post and saw the picture...and then read the recipe....I was so excited to see that it was chocolate chips in the recipe...Yea!! I can't wait to make these for my g'children when they come by! Blessings, K

Super yummy! I make something similar called snowballs. I get a tablespoon of PB, add a little powdered milk, granola, honey, mix it all together and roll it into a ball then roll it in coconut. Really yummy!

Hi Val,Most of the casseroles like the chicken noodle, chicken spaghetti and the friendship casserole can be frozen precooked. You can also freeze the salisbury steak and the hashbrown casserole as well. Here is a link to Jane's site her comment is a few above yours. She has a book called "make ahead meals for busy moms" awesome book and her site has some great resources and recipes. Here is the link for more freezer friendly ideas.

I'm curious what the purpose of the powdered milk is actually. I make a similar "cookie ball" with the proportions being higher on the oats and less on the peanut butter...but still with honey and chocolate chips. There's no milk in those. Does it somehow help them hold together better maybe? I don't know, it seems the honey and peanut butter would take care of that, so what does the powdered milk do?

Just to give this recipe an even healthier kick...If you are like me (on a high protein diet) you can make these as one of your snacks! Just add high protein cereal flakes instead of the oatmeal. And use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy. Then roll it in pecans or some other kind of chopped nuts. To make it fun for kiddos, you can stick a lolly-pop stick into it to make it a peanut butter pop!

I think flax seed would be fine. I actually started using a Hodgson Mill Multi Grain Hot Cereal mix instead of plain wheat germ. One because wheat germ is so pricey and this was only $2.50 a box. Plus this mixture has not only wheat germ, but soy, flax seed and cracked whole wheat. I get a 16 oz box at Kroger. I add about 2 tablespoons.

I remember these from back in the day but I think they put raisins in ours. Yuck. Never have liked raisins. These are great without- I must roll smaller than you though. I made half a batch and got 50 of them out of it. :) Thanks much for the great recipe!

I loved these when I was a kid, and had forgotten all about them. We didn't have them at school, but my mom taught a class for teen moms when I was 8. They used this recipe as edible play-dough for the toddlers. When we made the recipe into cookies at home we would roll them in unsweetened toasted coconut.

Okay, what did I do wrong? I think the taste is great, but my consistency was dry, making it hard to hold them together. I'm not sure where I went wrong. I did add the wheat germ, 2T, and I used 1/2 peanut butter, 1/2 almond butter, just for kicks. Maybe the almond butter doesn't have the same stickiness factor as the regular? I'll have to try them again with just PB. Thanks for the recipe. I am loving your blog!

question - i put this into a nutrition calculator, and they are 137 calories per "ball"...the honey makes up for a lot of the calories, and i'm wondering if there is a substitute for the honey (not sure what the purpose of it is, if it is just for sweetening or for binding...) i know stevia is a zero calorie sweetener...but not sure how to incorporate the powdered sweetener instead of the honey...any ideas?

Also if you blend the mixture together with a hand mixer it all comes together nicely. I don't have a problem rolling them into balls once I mix the mixture with a hand mixer. I also use a small cookie scoop to mold the mixture and then release from the scoop and roll into balls.

Also if you blend the mixture together with a hand mixer it all comes together nicely. I don't have a problem rolling them into balls once I mix the mixture with a hand mixer. I also use a small cookie scoop to mold the mixture and then release from the scoop and roll into balls.

My mom made something like this in the late 70s, just formed in a log that we sliced and with more wheat germ/no oatmeal. I used to LOVE, love, love it! Made these today with my kids and they are so good. What a great snack, especially for mom! ;) Thanks for sharing this.

Thanks for posting this recipe! I loved these as a kid (I think my parents got the recipe from prevention magazine) and now make them for my children...but I never knew the exact measurements. These come out much nicer now as I think I always used far too much powdered milk. We didn't use oats back in the day but I like the added nutritional value. Thanks again!

I remember making peanut butter balls with my mom when I was a little girl. And now I'm making them with my little girl! I've seen many recipes out there, but yours is the closest to the one my mom made. Hers didn't have any oats, but I like that addition. I've made your recipe a couple of times now. Thanks for the recipe!

The recipe calls for flaxseed, but I don't have any, and I couldn't find it at the store (I know they have it. I've seen flaxseed there before, but I didn't need it then....but when I do need it, I can't for the life of me remember where I saw it.) I used rice krispies instead...I like that little bit of crisp! It also says you can add carbo chips, but that's supposed to be carob chips....hehe. ;) I used mini chocolate chips.Oh, it says that it makes about 36 balls, but we got about 60 each time we've made them. I use a 1 Tbsp size cookie scoop...which is over 1" diameter, so they're not super tiny, but not huge either. I use the scoop, and then squish and roll it into a ball by hand...my daughter loves this part!There was a "harvest party" at pre-school last week and we were asked to bring snacks, preferably healthy ones. We made these peanut butter balls, and then I turned them into acorns by dipping them in melted chocolate candy coating, and sticking a piece of a pretzel stick in them. Cute little acorns for the harvest party!My son saw them and wanted them for the harvest party in his 2nd grade class too! They were a big hit! :)https://www.flickr.com/photos/135637616@N06/22741402306/in/dateposted-public/